The City investigates dumping company

Durban - A company implicated in the recent dumping of syringes on Durban beaches will be stopped in its tracks until background information is gathered on its operation, Mayor Zandile Gumede announced during the eThekwini Municipality's Executive Committee (Exco) meeting on Tuesday afternoon.

Exco Councillors heard that the company has a Memorandum Of Understanding with both the national and provincial governments.

“Let’s get information before this gets out of control. Lets have a proper briefing because both national and provincial governments are implicated in this. This company must stop until such time that we get a properly defined presentation on this company and its operations,” Gumede said.

During her presentation to the Committee, Deputy Mayor Fawier Peer, said on investigation some of the syringes that washed up in January contained drugs.

At the time, it was reported that beachfront’s large waves had washed up numerous pollutants including medical waste.

Peer, who is also chairperson of the Security and Emergency Services Committee, said her committee would convene a meeting with both the provincial and national departments of health to discuss the Memorandum Of Understanding which they have with the company believed to have been behind the dumping.

The name of the company is withheld until owners are given an opportunity to comment.

“We found the company operating somewhere here, but they don’t have a way to dispose these syringes and it poses a danger to the public. Since they said they had this agreement with the health departments, our first step will be to sit down with both departments and we want to look into this memorandum and what it says,” Peer said.